Mystery Read-a-thon: Wrap up post!

As my server was down, I couldn't do any posts about read-a-thon. Also due to unavoidable reasons, I couldn't read as much as I wanted to.

Tell us more about your mystery/thriller reading habit.

I read vast and varied genres. Mystery/Thriller is part of it

When did you start reading this genre?

I think when I was 7-8 years old.

What was your first experience with the genre? The ever popular Nancy Drew or Agatha Christe? Or someone completely different?

I started with Enid Blyton mystery series..The Five Findouters and the dog.

How did you discover it?

My dad bought me cuople of those books.

Do you exclusively read mysteries and thrillers or do you mix it with other genres? If you switch genres, which other genres do you read?

As I said, I read varied genres. It depends on my mood what genre I pick up.

Did you finish a book?

Yes, I did finish one and a half book. I had wished to finish 4!

If so, what did you finish?

In The Shadow of the Glacier by Vicki Delaney and half of The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill

How many pages did you read?

352 pages in all. Not good at all

How did the reading go for you?

Pretty slow!

Did you have any major disruptions?

Yes, we had unexpected visitors turning up.

Would you join in for another read-a-thon later this year?

Yes, I would!

What else do you think about the read-a-thon?

Although it was slow for me, I liked it! Mystery reading feels good!

Mystery Read-a-thon: Kick starting it with a meme!

I discovered the first Mystery Read-A-Thon from caribousmom's blog. And instantly decided to join in. You can choose 12 hours to read, which suits you in your time zone. I like that! So here I am kick starting it with an introductory meme:

What books do you want to read during this read-a-thon?

I am currently reading In The Shadow of the Glacier by Vicki Delaney. I am on page 61/302. I will continue with it. I will read at least two Agatha Christies and also throw in a Sherlock Holmes.

How many books do you hope to finish?

At least 4

What (if any) breaks do you intend to take?

I will take tea breaks and blogging breaks too. Also gotta cook as my brother and his family are coming for lunch.

Do you generally read lots of mysteries and thrillers or are the one of the many genres you like?

I don't exclusively read mysteries. I read a vast and varied genres and mystery/thrillers are a part of it!

What are some of your favorite authors?

I would say Agatha Christies to start with. And Sherlock Holmes is not far behind. However, I can pick up any good mystery without being picky.

If you could make us all read one mystery or thriller for this read-a-thon, which one would it be and why?

I think everyone should read Arthur Conan Doyle, if you haven't already.

Do you prefer series or stand alones?

If a mystery isn't affected by a series, I don't mind it at all. Most mysteries are stand alones. You can read those without having read the previous ones.

Non-fiction meme

As I have not being reading, I have no reviews to post here. I have received two books from Collins, a branch from HarperCollins. Those are non-fiction and that too something entirely different genre. Nothing about people, places or animals..

You can understand by reading the titles what I really mean:

1). Grow your Money/101 easy tips to plan, save and invest by Jonathan D. Pond
2). Babyproofing your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill and Julia Stone

I will get around those books and write my opinions. I have already written reviews for two books, I received from Collins.

Downsizing Your Home With Style by Lauri Ward
The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mark “dr. tea” Ukra with Sharyn Kolberg

I found those books very interesting, informative and useful. What I loved about it is my family and friends wanted to grab those books. They seldom even look at my very precious novels. Someday, I would consider doing it professionally. For now, I am only increassing my knowledge!

Wait a moment, writing this, I thought I would have a bit of fun, my dear blogger friends! Why don't we interact? Let me put it this way:

a). What issues/topic interests you most--non-fiction, i.e, cooking, knitting, stitching, thereare infinite topics that has nothing to do with novels?
b). Would you like to review books concerning those?
c). Would you like to be paid or do it as interest or hobby? Tell reasons for what ever you choose.
d). Would you recommend those to your friends and how?
e). If you have already done something like this, link it to your post.
f). Please don't forget to link back here or whoever tags you.

Now to tag , let me see--more the merrier, 10. Get this meme moving! Let us see how each of us fares!

To start with, I tag:
Eva
Alice Teh
Alison
Becky
Booklogged
C J Hill
framed
marg
Melody
Nithin
Ravenous Reader

10 signs that I have written a book

Kristin Gorski of "Write now is good" has tagged me for this.

10 signs that I have written a book:

1). It is set in, of all places, Australia. Frankly I don't know, why. I have never been there. However, I would like to write a book set in Australia.

2). It is about a man lost in the forests trying to find his way out. He can talk to animals and commune with trees. He is not your macho man.

3). No fairy tale like endings. Our man will cry when he is hurt.

4). There is lot of internal dialogues. Symbolism is must.

5). It would be a third person account. I cannot write in first person.

6). Poetry from many great poets would be quoted along with my own poetry. After all, I am basically a poet.

7). Our man eventually will find a village hidden under the earth. He will be the saviour of those who dwell in the dark recesses of earth.

8). Death is inevitable. Practical. Natural.

9). My characters would have interesting names. Like Omigi Sinkuba, Sistipu Dombilo or something like that.

10). It won't have explicit sex scenes. Those are implied, not shown. So when you read it, it would all be in your mind.

11). (I couldn't resist this) It would be grabbed as soon as it is published!

Now I tag Booklogged, Booksplease, Dewey, Eva, Geranium Cat, Jaimie, Melody, Nymeth, nyssaneala, pussreboots, Rhinoa and you...

Country poem meme

I had gone to poefrica/rethabile to comment on his works. I landed up on this Country poem meme.

I thought why not give it a try! I did learn something about a country I know nothing! I even plan to find out more about its literature.

Intro for you all:

Take a country whose name begins with the last letter of your surname. (a) Jane Doe would take Ecuador, for example, or Egypt. England (like the USA and Ireland) does not qualify. Wole Soyinka would take Angola, or Afghanistan. If you cannot find a country with that letter (and only then), move back a step. (b) Jane Doe would take Oman, in that case. And as for Wole Soyinka, he would go for Kazakhstan, or Korea. And so on.

Thank you. Please tag two people (leave a message on their blog, too).

Here is my offering:

As my surname is Tripathy, Yemen was the only country that came to my mind.

1. Tell us what the capital city of the country

Yemen is a Middle Eastern country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. Yemen is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea. In addition, Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the east. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 kilometres to the south of Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. The capital of Yemen is Sana’a.

2. How many inhabitants that country has?

It has a population of about 20 million people

3. Find and share with us a poem in English of not more than 20 lines from that country. If it's longer; cut it to twenty lines or less.

Waddah al-Yaman, born Abdul Rahman bin Isma’il al-Khawlani(d. 708), was an Arab poet. He was born in Yemen in the second half of the seventh century. He was famous for his erotic and romantic poems. He was executed by the Ummayad Caliph Al-Walid I, allegedly due to his over familiarity with the former's wife. Waddah is now regarded as the national poet of Yemen.

One of his poems goes like this:

She said, "Don’t come to our home, my father is deadly jealous."
I said, "I’ll pluck you before he knows it, my sword is razor sharp."
She said, "There’s a whole castle between us."
I said, "I’ll fly my flag over the castle."
She said, "There’s a whole sea between us."
I said, "I’m a strong swimmer."
She said, "My seven brothers keep an eye on me."
I said, "I’m a match for them all."
She said, "Allah is watching us."
I said, "My lord is Merciful and Forgiving."
She said, "I have run out of words, so come tonight when everyone’s floating in dreams, and fall on me like dew, undisturbed."

4. Tell us something you particularly like about the poem you have chosen:

There was no other choice. It is the only poem I could find on the net from Yemen.

5. Add a line anywhere in the poem (beginning, middle or end), and clearly show which line is yours to avoid confusion and/or ambiguity.

I said, "Tonight I come to you and merge our souls."
She said, "Don’t come to our home, my father is deadly jealous."
I said, "I’ll pluck you before he knows it, my sword is razor sharp."
She said, "There’s a whole castle between us."
I said, "I’ll fly my flag over the castle."
She said, "There’s a whole sea between us."
I said, "I’m a strong swimmer."
She said, "My seven brothers keep an eye on me."
I said, "I’m a match for them all."
She said: "Allah is watching us."
I said, "My lord is Merciful and Forgiving."
She said, "I have run out of words, so come tonight when everyone’s floating in dreams, and fall on me like dew, undisturbed."

I tag J. Andrew Lochart, Borut and/or anyone else who wants to play.

Poetry meme

Thanks Lotus, for tagging me for this. I enjoyed doing this..:)

1. The first poem I remember reacting to was:
Will you come into my parlour said the spider to the fly..
I cannot forget it ever. It was my first exposure to duplicity. Here it is for all of you:

The Spider And The Fly by Mary Howitt (1799-1888)

"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly;
"'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you may spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there."
"Oh no, no," said the little fly; "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high.
Well you rest upon my little bed?" said the spider to the fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest a while, I'll snugly tuck you in!"
"Oh no, no," said the little fly, "for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again who sleep upon your bed!"

Said the cunning spider to the fly: "Dear friend, what can I do
To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?
I have within my pantry good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome - will you please to take a slice?"
"Oh no, no," said the little fly; "kind sir, that cannot be:
I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"

"Sweet creature!" said the spider, "you're witty and you're wise;
How handsome are your gauzy wings; how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf;
If you'd step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."
"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say,
And, bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."

The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the fly;
Then came out to his door again and merrily did sing:
"Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple; there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer grew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes and green and purple hue,
Thinking only of her crested head. Poor, foolish thing! at last
Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast;
He dragged her up his winding stair, into the dismal den -
Within his little parlor - but she ne'er came out again!

And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words I pray you ne'er give heed;
Unto an evil counselor close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the spider and the fly.


2. I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and...

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright by William Blake. I simply loved the imagery.


“The Tyger”

Tyger, Tyger. burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye.
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, or what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat.
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp.
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger, Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

3. I read poetry because....
I have too. I read classics to modern. Anything, everything. I have vast and varied taste. It depends on my mood.

4. A poem I'm likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is ....

Too many. But I think my favourite is by John Clare:

I Am by John Clare

I am: yet what I am none cares or knows
My friends forsake me like a memory lost,
I am the self-consumer of my woes—
They rise and vanish in oblivious host,
Like shadows in love's frenzied, stifled throes—
And yet I am, and live—like vapors tossed

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life or joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;
Even the dearest, that I love the best,
Are strange—nay, rather stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes, where man hath never trod,
A place where woman never smiled or wept—
There to abide with my Creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept,
Untroubling, and untroubled where I lie,
The grass below—above the vaulted sky.

5. I write/don't write poetry, but..............

I do write poetry. I started out as a short story writer and don't know how I graduated to poetry. Words just flow without any reason and I have to write no matter what. I can't do without words:

I only exist without it
Poetry gives me direction,
imagination and perception.

7. I find poetry.....
Everywhere. Things I love, things I hate. In mundane things, in nature, in you, in me...you name it, I see it.

8. The last time I heard poetry....
At a poetry meet organised inter school last month in Delhi. I enjoyed poetry reading very much.

9. I think poetry is like....
soul food. I cannot live without it. I have to read it and write when muse strikes me.

The first books that came into my mind after I was tagged for this "Book Meme"

I have been tagged by lotus reads for this book meme. I usually do not play for tags. But this one I will play along. Only because I read hell of a lot. My compulsive buying of books is more than my reading power. Too many books lying around to be read. Here I enumerate the first ones that come into my mind. I know I will not be able to do justice to this. But what the hell!

1. One book that changed your life?





Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. After reading that book, I quit thinking one person cannot change the world. One single entity can if she/he is determined enough. I read it the first time when I was 17 years old. I was half in love with Howard Roark for a long time afterwards. Maybe I am still searching for him. A must read book. I feel one must read all of Rand's book like I have done.




2. One book you have read more than once?




There are too many books, I read more than once. Three men in a boat by Jerome K. Jerome takes the cake though. I must have read it numerous times. I simply cannot get over it. It's too hilarious to be put down after you start it.



3. One book you would want on a desert island?








East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It sustains interest throughtout and is a great story of courage and survival. I need to read it yet again. What better place than a desert island?





4. One book that made you cry?


The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It brings tears into my eyes even if I pick it up now. Very powerful touching kind of book.




5. One book that made you laugh?





Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is a satire of the times which has the power to make us laugh at human foibles and failings. Very intellectual kind of book with underlying humour and irony!






6. One book you wish had been written?

About how not to follow religion blindly by Pope Benedict! For obvious reasons!


7. One book you wish had never been written?




Men are from Mars, women are from Venus by John Gray. It is too cliched for the likes of me! One book I wish I had never bought. If I ever see John Gray, I will kill him with my bare hands.




8. One book you are currently reading?

Infact I am reading three books all at the same time. I always do.






The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishguro.









The unbearable Burden of Lightness by Milan Kundera. It is my 5th book by Kundera. It is as interesting as the others that I have read.









The scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I got this book for a long time now. I got around to reading it now. As they say, better late than never.




I plan to write reviews for all three after I finish those.


9. One book you have been meaning to read?






The original version of Kamasutra by Vatsayan. Too many copies circulating. I want nothing but the best! Mind you, it's not a book on sexul positions. It is a treatise on love and sensuality.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are just a few of the books I have read, am reading and mean to read. I left out most of the non-fiction, political commentaries and silly detective novels(that I simply love!). Not to forget poets. I can only write so much here!


I enjoyed doing this. How could I miss a good thing? Thanks for tagging me, Lotus!

Am I supposed to tag too? Let me think! Ok, I tag homo escapeons, within without, jon aristides, Ghost Particle, frontier editor and david Israel. Hope you play it. If you don't it's ok with me!

But do indulge me!